Prime Rib & Red Wine: Heritage Recipe and Wine Pairing

The holidays are wonderful memories now and many will look at January and February with dread. I learned many year’s back that good food and wine served regularly during the colder days act as a tonic for the soul, a way to overcome doldrums.

My New Year’s resolution was to employ common sense regarding food. A balanced diet with smaller portions perhaps but no fads like pill-induced weight loss. Walk more. Laugh more. Exercise makes you feel better and live longer.

It’s Prime Rib Roast time and the thought of this regal entreé makes us feel good all over. This recipe is from Atlanta restaurant pioneer and wine authority Jim Sanders who was trained in France and taught his legendary wine courses to lucky "students" over many years.

Elegant and Delicious Prime Rib of Beef.Photo byDown South Today

Jim Sanders Prime Rib of Beef

Ingredients:

1 6-bone prime rib

2 oz. vegetable oil

1 cup red wine

1 garlic clove

Sea salt

Black pepper

Preparation:

Rub the beef well with oil and sprinkle heavily with salt and pepper. Place bone side down in a roasting pan, place the clove of garlic underneath the beef and roast for 30 minutes at 400 degrees which seals the meat. Pour the wine over the roast, reduce the heat to 325 degrees and roast for 1 hour. Remove from pan and let stand for 30 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on the stove and heat until the juices bubble. Slice the roast into 6 pieces and remove the bones. Use pan fluids as au jus or, if you want a thicker gravy, stir in a little corn starch.

Exquisite Margeaux adds to the Prime Rib Experience.Photo byDown South Today

WINES: Jim Sanders observed that “any good red wine goes very well with roast beef, [but] the subtle savoriness of prime rib seems to cry out for the reserved elegance of a fine red Bordeaux like a Margaux. Dr. Dwight Weathers, who is widely respected for his knowledge of wines and their relationship with food said that his “first choice would be a California Cabernet Sauvignon. Opus One, unless you could commandeer a Screaming Eagle. Second would be a French Burgundy [like] Gevrey Chambertin or Gigondas. Third Choice would be perhaps a Penfolds Grange (Australia).”

Opus One, A Legendary Cabernet Sauvignon.Photo byDown South Today